Gigs & business
Manager
A manager works across an artist’s whole career rather than a single revenue line — releases, strategy, team, partnerships and the day-to-day — usually for a percentage of overall income rather than of live fees alone.
In practice
A manager takes a share of everything, so the deal you sign early is the one that costs most later.
Look for someone whose judgement you would take on a decision you disagree with, because that is the actual service. Ask what they would do in your first six months and listen for specifics rather than enthusiasm. On terms, the things that matter are the length, what happens on termination — particularly whether they keep commission on deals signed during the term — and which income streams are included. Have someone who does this for a living read it before you sign, whatever the relationship feels like.
Everything
What the commission covers
Termination
The clause that matters most
Judgement
The actual service
Where these come from: How artist-management relationships are commonly structured — convention, not legal or financial advice. For what we can measure, see the narrower role.
Why it matters
The distinction from an agent is scope. An agent sells dates; a manager decides which dates are worth selling, whether the record should come out on that label, whether the third remix is worth the delay, and who else needs to be in the room. That is a judgement job and it depends entirely on the person.
Because the commission is across everything, a manager is expensive early and cheap later, which is the reverse of how it feels. Signing a broad management deal before there is much to manage transfers a share of everything you go on to build, and that is a decision with a long tail.
Frequently asked
Do I need a manager and an agent?+
They are different jobs and plenty of artists have both, one, or neither. An agent is worth having when the offers exceed your time; a manager when the decisions do.
What does a manager charge?+
A percentage of overall income rather than of live fees alone, which is what makes the scope of the deal more important than the number.
What should I check in a management agreement?+
Length, which income streams are included, and what happens on termination — especially any continuing commission on deals signed during the term. Have it read professionally.
Related terms
Booking agent
A booking agent sells your live dates: they take offers, negotiate fees and terms, advance shows and chase payment, for a commission on the fee — commonly around ten to fifteen per cent of it.
A&R
A&R — artists and repertoire — is the role at a label responsible for finding artists and shaping what they release. On a small label it is often the owner; on a large one it has a budget behind it.
Label demo
A demo is unreleased music sent to a label for consideration. Most labels state how they want it — a private streaming link, one or two tracks, a short message — and most ignore anything sent another way.
EPK
An EPK is an electronic press kit — a single page or file holding a DJ's bio, photos, mixes, links and contact details, sent to promoters and press instead of a scattered set of messages.
Explore: DJ press kit template · Booking agent · EPK · All DJ terms